Okay so wait. Am I seeing things...or did this thing NOT GO ANYWHERE. Maybe it's just me, but I would imagine that there is a BIIIIG difference between moving an unmanned cone from one side of the hood to the other...and space travel. I know I'M not getting in that thing. It's a mite early to be "unveiling". There's work to be done. A first look at this point is something that goes into orbit, no?
Daryle On Thu, 04 Jan 2007 14:24:21 -0500, Brent Wodehouse <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/03/26062.aspx > > BLUE ORIGIN REVEALED > > Posted: Wednesday, January 03, 2007 > > by Alan Boyle > > > After years of working behind closed doors and locked gates, Amazon.com > founder Jeff Bezos has finally lifted the curtain that shrouded Blue > Origin, his space tourism venture. > > Among the goodies now displayed on Blue Origin's Web site are photos and > videos from the venture's maiden test flight in November, as seen from > the > ground as well as a rocket-cam ... pictures from the West Texas launch > range and Blue Origin's production facility in a Seattle suburb ... and > even the Blue Origin coat of arms, emblazoned with the motto "Gradatim > Ferociter" (Step by Step, Courageously). > > Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000, with the aim of developing a new type > of vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing rocket ship capable of taking > passengers to the edge of space. At altitudes in excess of 62 miles (100 > kilometers), customers should be able to scan Earth's curving expanse > beneath a black sky, experience a few minutes of weightlessness and > justifiably brag afterward that they've been to outer space. Blue > Origin's > current development schedule calls for commercial trips to start in 2010. > > Details about the operation have been hard to come by. That bit about > 2010, for example, comes from the environmental assessment that was > required in order for the Federal Aviation Administration to approve test > flights at the Blue Origin launch facility, built on Bezos' sprawling > ranch near Van Horn, Texas. Even the illustration on the cover of the > draft report was adapted from the design for the Delta Clipper, an > earlier-generation rocket ship. > > Blue Origin's freshly updated Web site gives the public its first look at > Goddard, the rocket prototype that's being used for the initial round of > test flights. The cute, conical craft - named after rocket pioneer Robert > Goddard - can be seen rising from a circular pad of concrete to a height > of about 285 feet (87 meters), then coming back down to a soft landing. > > Nine thrusters are on the craft's underbelly. In its literature, Blue > Origin says it's developing a peroxide/kerosene propulsion system, so I > have to assume that's what's being used here. > > Accompanying all the snazzy graphics is a letter from Bezos himself, in > which he explains Blue Origin's lofty goal: > > "We’re working, patiently and step-by-step, to lower the cost of > spaceflight so that many people can afford to go and so that we humans > can > better continue exploring the solar system. Accomplishing this mission > will take a long time, and we’re working on it methodically. We believe > in > incremental improvement and in keeping investments at a pace that's > sustainable. Slow and steady is the way to achieve results, and we do not > kid ourselves into thinking this will get easier as we go along. Smaller, > more frequent steps drive a faster rate of learning, help us maintain > focus, and give each of us an opportunity to see our latest work fly > sooner." > > He also touts Amazon.com's S3 servers (which are housing the data on the > Web site) as well as job opportunities at Blue Origin. The photos show > the > brand-spanking-new digs at Blue Origin's production facility in Kent, > Wash. ... cheering employees at the maiden launch in Texas ... and even a > grinning Bezos holding a broken champagne cork ("Fortunately, our other > valve operations went more smoothly," he joked). > > The employment angle appears to be the motivation behind the increased > candor. > > "As you noted, the new site does make more information available to > potential applicants for positions at Blue Origin," Bruce Hicks, a > Houston-based spokesman for the venture, told me in an e-mail. > > The glasnost over Goddard still doesn't extend all the way, of course. > For > example, there's no mention of Blue Origin's second, less spectacular > test > run in December. In response to my inquiry about that, Hicks said, "I > just > want to remind you that we said previously we didn't plan to comment one > way or another about tests, whether they are scheduled, were scheduled, > happened, didn't happen, etc." > > This means we'll just have to keep checking the FAA's notices to airmen > for word of future tests. > > Also, there's no reference to the potential price tag for the commercial > flights to come. It may well be that Bezos hasn't yet set a price point > (see "patiently and step-by-step," above). > > For now, this week's revelations are enough: Based on the video of the > first flight, it's clear that Blue Origin could give Armadillo Aerospace > a > serious run for NASA's money at the next Lunar Lander Challenge in New > Mexico - just up the road a piece from Van Horn. > > Update for 1:15 a.m. ET Jan. 4: Robin Snelson, who knows the ins and outs > of the NASA competition as the creator of the Lunar Lander Challenge Web > log, says Blue Origin's craft would be ineligible for the contest. Read > her comments below for the details. > -- Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/
